German Catalog 2006 USE THIS ONE.qxp - Michael Skurnik Wines

PFALZ WINES
168
Messmers use only organic fertilizers. All the white
wines are made and aged in stainless steel. They receive
their single racking early after fermentation and are left
undisturbed until bottling, usually in March. This is a
recipe for noninterventionist winemaking of remarkable
purity. And Messmer’s wines, indeed, are remarkably pure.
They’re as clear as glass, etched as sharply as etched glass,
transparent as the thinnest glass, but firmly constituted.
His sweet wines are in a class of their own. Only the
very best from Dönnhoff, Selbach-Oster and Müller-
Catoir are equivalent. The articulation and clarity of
Meßmer’s sweet wines, their discretion and tenderness
and tact, are infinitely more precious than syrupy richness.
I really started to wonder whether I actually liked
dessert wines at all anymore, and Gregor restored my
heart to me; tasting his wines is stirring and profound.
The southern Pfalz suffered from draught in `05,
partly as a residue of the parched summer of `03.
Irrigation is now permitted in Germany, and I asked
Gregor if he was ever tempted to deploy it. “Actually, I
am fundamentally opposed to irrigation,” he replied
(rather to my delight), “It isn’t the solution. I’d rather deal
with draught by adjusting yields lower.”
Superbly made wines, exceptional clarity and polish in
messmer at a glance:
a keenly etched and chiseled style. Has soared ahead to
take its place among the best estates in the Pfalz the last few years. Sure-handed with
a multitude of grape varieties.
What unites them is CLARITY and SPECIFICITY.
how the wines taste:
Gregor’s careful, diligent style seems to allow us to
examine the fruit of his wines as though under a microscope. This must be the most
honorable way to make wine. Everyone knows how to make bombshells—it’s facile and
plausible—but the tender, delicate rendering of varietal fruit denotes a respect for the
grape which only shows when you’re nature’s humble servant and not concerned with
being a hot-shot. Gregor’s wines have an exactitude that satisfies my desire for seeing
things clearly.
GMS-111L 2005 Estate Riesling Halbtrocken, 1.0 Liter
This is now 100% estate-grown, and remains the class among my Liter offerings; it’s
articulate, minerally and long, a calligraphy of Riesling, amazingly filigree and delineated.
And a STEAL for such a carefully made wine.
SOMMELIER ALERT! SOS: 0 (now-8 years)
GMS-119L 2005 Spätburgunder, 1.0 Liter
Tasted from a pre-filtered cask sample, the wine is hugely promising; it should be pretty,
and quite concentrated for its echelon. A perfect pouring wine!
SOMMELIER ALERT! (now-5 years)
GMS-112 2005 Burrweiler Altenforst Riesling Kabinett Trocken
Creamy and charming — yes, this is dry German Riesling we’re talking about! Aromas
of cherry and boucherie; palate-coating jasmine and mineral richness; a suave finish
that’s almost tea-like.
SOS: 0 (now-3 years, again 11-15 years)
GMS-114 2005 Burrweiler Schlossgarten Riesling Kabinett
Tangelo and malt aromas; bright, citric and zingy but it’s in no way green, but rather yellow-orange,
as if an orange-blossom honey had most of its sweetness removed. We’re
contemplating this as a CORE-LIST wine but have to determine whether he can produce
it every year for us. Know why? He can’t sell such a wine at home! It has the
dreaded sweetness you see . . .
SOS: 2 (5-14 years)